What are you doing for grandma's house?

Knottie1458416769 · August 2016

Up till now, I've been thinking about baby supplies for our place.

But then my mom asked me what kind of crib I want for her place - and it hit me - I'm going to need a set of things at grandma and nanna's houses or I'm going to lug it around on a plane....

so what are y'all doing?

Right now now we have real cribs and swing and halo bassinet etc for our place; I'm thinking graco pnp and bath tub for grandma's house, and then lotus or baby bjorn travel crib and some portable baby tub for nanna's place (which hopefully we don't have to visit too frequently cuz I prefer my parents' house over the in-laws).

Or or maybe I need to get a pnp for both grandma and Nana's house and so less luggage to carry around? Or maybe I should just get real cribs for all these places for baby to grow into?
And then multiples of high chairs, bouncers etc when baby gets older...gosh darn it, never occurred to me before that I need multiple sets

leighry · August 2016

I'll say that for my parents house (who live a mile down the road) I left a pack and play there when the kids were old enough that they would be babysitting them and need to put them down for naps. Otherwise I would just bring our spare over if we were visiting. They never had bouncers or swings or anything like that because we live so close there was no point. They do have a highchair though. My in laws live in upstate NY. So we are only there maybe once a year. We bring a pack and play, otherwise they have nothing for kids outside of a few toys they picked up themselves. We bring a space saver seat when we go there.

Since my parents live so close we also got them a base for our car seat and now that the kids are older we also got them a car seat and booster seat for our older kids so if they wanted to bring them somewhere we weren't constantly switching out car seats from cars.

rspalding001 · August 2016

Our grandparents live too far away for daily or even weekly visits, so when we do go to see them we would just bring a portable bed for DD with us ( pack n play or inflatable mattress) and not much else. She would just eat on our laps and play with whatever toys we could fit in a carry on bag.

kristah2 · August 2016

My mom lives close enough! We bought a pack and play we will bring with us when baby sleeps over. Otherwise she has bought a high chair and wipes. I'm going to leave some glass bottles that were given to us. She is going to buy a used swing and exersaucer too.
At my dads my sister lives there and she is 8 so it's still super baby friendly so I'm not worried about that.
My in laws live in another province so I'm not even going to think about that until next year.

kvruns · August 2016

are all of your relatives a plane ride away? If so I don't think I'd be purchasing anything big to keep at their house unless you plan on flying with the baby to visit a bunch. My parents are about 10 min from my brother and had their daughter a decent amount and had a car seat, stroller (bought used), basic pack n play, and a folding highchair that sits on a regular kitchen chair. They would pick up things from garage sales to have on hand such as a few extra outfits, some toys, etc but that was about it. If the kid isn't spending a significant amount of time there I wouldn't see a reason to have double.

I'm closer to 40-45 min from my parents and I know they still have the pack n play but that will be about it. They got rid of the stroller and the car seat is expired I'm pretty sure; since we're not as close to their house I dont think they will really need it although if we find a used stroller and car seat for cheap I might go ahead and get it "just in case". My in laws are across the country and I dont see us visiting them more than maybe 1x every 1-2 years. It will be much easier for them to visit us than us visit them.

Knottie1458416769 · August 2016

@kvruns my parents are like 5 hours driving or train away from us or a quick plane ride
they might come visit frequently but I'd prob go back for holidays like Easter thanksgiving Labor Day weekend etc etc

My in laws are def a plane ride away and I hope we don't have to make that trek more than twice a year, once would be super

visitng infrequently = don't need a second set
but visitng infrequently also means staying longer each time -> so lots more to schlep around if u don't keep an extra there...

LadyBugMe101 · August 2016

My mom will be taking care of baby when I return to work so I plan on having a Pack N Play at her house for sure. She will get a car seat base, high chair and a bouncer at minimum. Not sure yet if we plan on sharing the stroller or purchasing one for her to use that uses the same base. I will check with my sister to see what she did with her LO's.

We both agree baby will not have extended stays at MIL's. And we don't see a need to equip her household with anything we will not already be toting around.

It is a legitimate concern and something to think about for sure. On the registry thread I mentioned I registered for same items at multiple stores because I do not mind getting 2 of something that we can use at Nana's.

erinlin25 · August 2016

my MIL lives in the same town and she already has a crib from previous grandbabies (that was actually my parents from my nephew) + a crap ton of toys, supplies etc. She will get a base that matches our carrier so we can just transfer baby into her car if necessary (she did this with her other grandbabies too).

My parents live about 2 hours from us. They bought a pack n play and will have things at their house for when we visit. Friends have given hand me downs, etc so anything "extra" I get will go to either my parents or MIL to use. I recommended they get the base for the carseat for easy transfers as well, but that is up to them.

I feel like if they want things at their place they will buy what they want/need.

shevaCC · August 2016

We were visiting parents and ILs once a year each until we stopped flying for a while due to DD's peanut allergy. My parents have a booster seat (fisher price healthy care deluxe booster, $25ish) at their house, a few toys, and a few books but that's basically it. ILs have a PNP and a high chair my SIL got for them.

We bedshare with babies so I wasn't worried about sleeping arrangements, but I wouldn't buy anything expensive. Either have them buy (or borrow) a basic PNP/travel crib or you can bring one with you. Car seats you'll want on the plane or you can check for free. Strollers also check for free generally -- usually I do without but when I know we'll be walking a lot I've gate checked ours.

All travel stuff is a tradeoff of money/annoyance factor. I find it annoying to hold a child on my lap while they're eating and the booster seat lasts from 6 months to 2ish years, so that was worth it for me to buy for my parents, even for maybe a month total of use.

BlondeSunnyDays · August 2016

Our parents live cross country and we go to each ~2X per year. They each have a basic pack and play (like $50 at Walmart), a $15 booster seat, a convertible car seat ($100 Britax Roundabout) and a few toys/books at each house. All are things that can be used for smaller babies through the toddler years for multiple grandchildren. I wouldn't invest in anything that can only be used for a newborn (bouncer and portable tub) if you'll only go a couple of times a year. Babies don't even use bouncers once they can sit up (6-7 months) so they may only get one use out of it. Once they outgrow the pack and play they'll likely be in a toddler bed anyways so you can have then sleep on the ground (we just make a bed of comforters or camping mat) so you wouldn't need a real crib.

BLyn627 · August 2016

My parents, who live 20 minutes away, bought a few things they thought would make it easier when DD was over there. They got a PNP (from once upon a child) and a three inch foam mattress for it. The mattress was seriously a really good idea as it's a lot more comfy when spending the night. They also got a high chair that just connects to one of their chairs, so it doesn't take up anymore space. They also have a few toys and books. We received so many blankets, that I gave them a few to keep there.

MrsBigTime · August 2016

We have nothing at any of our parents houses. They are all far away and I've always just brought what we need or made due without for our visit.

I guess "nothing" isn't totally true: My dad happened upon a new car seat prior to one of our visits, and so he has a convertible car seat at his house, but had he not had that, I would have had no issues with lugging ours through the airport like I did for my trips prior.

I agree with PP, if you will visit regularly or have them doing childcare, it's probably wise to invest in a portable crib (PNP) and a few other pieces that make life easier (high chair, bounces, stroller if applicable), otherwise, I'd save your $ and just bring what you need when the time comes.

hollowway · August 2016

Nothing. DD doesn't go without me or my fiance... So we just bring whatever we may need when we visit.

yosemite2018 · August 2016

My parents live 10 min away and are turning my childhood bedroom into a nursery. They're buying their own stuff, and I know they'll get a high chair, either crib or pack n play, and whatever else they need. My mom will have a car seat base in her car which we'll buy for her as she will be watching the baby once a week. SO's dad's house has a bassinet but other than that we'll just bring what we need (pack n play, booster seat) as we wouldn't be spending more than a few hours there at a time. SO's mom lives out of state and we'll figure that out when the time comes as we'll fly out there once or twice a year, but she'll visit most of the time so if we bought or brought anything there it would be minimal.

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